Even though our website has more information then you
can shake a stick at, we do find that some merchants
can feel either overwhelmed by all the information,
or they just don't read it all. Even after signing the
contracts some merchants are unaware of the terms provided
to them as they have not fully read the agreements etc.

Below we have outlined what we feel are the
most important parts of the merchant account that you
need to fully understand before applying.

Please also read through our website
and FAQ's as these tell you everything you need
to know - and more. Most importantly please read the
contracts, once you receive them, to fully understand
what it is you are getting. We obviously can not be
held liable once you have signed them and the account
is set-up.

Have
you understood the pricing and transaction rates for
each account

Each account has different transaction costs and
terms depending on status and business model and
is sent out to you initially in an email, and then
in a legally binding agreement.. Please make sure
that you have read and understood these before you
sign any agreement.

Non
EU businesses applying for an EU Merchant Account

With all our accounts (excluding aggregated
accounts) both your incorporated company AND your
physical home address must be in either the UK
or the EU. You can use a shall company (as long
as the UBO (Ultimate Business Owner) is not in
a restricted country.) but it must still be within
Europe.

For example you can incorporate in Gibraltar
and trade from France. However, you can not incorporate
in Gibraltar but trade from and be located in
the US.

Depending on business type our aggregated account
allows business incorporations in most countries
including India, Asia, US etc. and you do not
have to set-up a shell company.

Accepting
credit and debit cards depending on country of incorporation

Because of the credit card rules, many merchants
simply assume they can accept all credit and debit
cards no matter what they are doing or where they
are located. Unfortunately this isn't the case.

To be able to accept credit cards
you can be incorporated anywhere (within reason).
However to accept debit cards you
must be incorporated in the country the debit card
originates, normally the UK and Europe. Below is
a list of cards and the country your business must
be incorporated in.

All
Visa debit and credit

Worldwide

All
MasterCard debit and credit

Worldwide

Maestro

UK and Europe

Diners
Club

Worldwide

Carte
Bleue

France

Dankort

Denmark

CartaSi

Italy

Laser

Eire

AMEX

Worldwide

Discover

Worldwide

JCB

Netherlands, Germany,
Austria or Switzerland

Main
reasons why application timescales extend

When you apply for a merchant account you need
to complete and return various documents, proof
of ID and also have your website up to scratch
(unless MOTO only). This may take an applicant
a few hours or even a few weeks to provide them.
Because of this applications can become delayed.
Simply put - for every day it takes to receive
the relevant documents back that's at least how
much of a delay there will be. For example if
we provide an estimated timescale of 5 days to
process and activate an account, but receive the
documents back 10 days after sending them, the
complete process from sending out the documents
will take 15 days.

One tip to speed up the time it takes to process
an application is to get all the relevant ID ready
while we process your initial application. That
way you will only need to complete the relevant
documents sent to you, if we can indeed help,
and not have to suddenly run around looking for
ID, utility bills etc. slowing down the process.

What
ID Documents do I need to supply?

Due to money laundering regulations 1993, fraud
and obvious ID theft, we will need the following
from you once you have applied and been initially
accepted. Please note that you will be notified
via email of what exactly you need to supply and
when - learn
more >>>

Original utility bill
or bank statement i.e. dated within the last
three months, and for a service provided directly
to your home. Acceptable examples are bank
statements, gas, water, electricity, or landline
telephone bills.

Voided cheque (or a
copy of a recent Bank Statement or Welcome
letter if recently opened)

Certificate of Incorporation
(and related documents)

A copy of the Terms
& Conditions as listed on website

Proof of Domain ownership
and must be registered in the applicants company
(legal) name

Checks
performed as part of the application process

As part of the application process, only done once
we have received all the relevant documentation
back, we perform two main checks.

MATCH Database - The
MATCH File is maintained by MasterCard International
and is the way by which MasterCard and Visa acquiring
banks identify merchants, and the principals, which
have been terminated for specific reasons. These
check find information such as when a merchant has
been convicted of credit card fraud, deposited sales
that were not authorized by cardholders, deposited
transaction that were for sales generated by another
business (known as laundering.)

Credit Checks - During
our assessment of your application, we will use
the services of credit reference agencies to confirm
your home address and calculate your personal credit
score. Information held by the credit reference
agencies is used by us and others to help verify
the identity of customers and to assess their ability
to meet financial commitments. This enables accounts
to be opened more quickly and reduces the need to
obtain third-party references.

To enable us to form an accurate view of the
existing financial commitments of customers, credit
reference agencies may link the records of “financial
associates” (such as spouses, family members,
or cohabiters) who have entered into joint financial
obligations. Once linked, this association means
that each of the records will be taken into account
in all future applications for credit by either
financial associate and will continue until one
of them successfully files a “disassociation”
with the credit reference agencies by establishing
that this financial link no longer exists. Information
held about you by the credit reference agencies
may already be linked to records relating to one
or more of your “financial associates”.
If so, for the purposes of any application to
us for services you may be treated as financially
linked and if so your application will be assessed
with reference to any associated records. Further
details about “financial association”,
“disassociation”, and credit reference
agencies are available by contacting the credit
reference agencies directly.

We may make periodic searches of our records,
credit reference agencies, and fraud prevention
agencies to manage your account, and to take decisions
regarding your account and the terms under which
we have opened it, including whether or not to
confirm or extend your account.

By submitting the application documents you confirm
that you have read the foregoing and agree to
us obtaining the aforementioned information during
our assessment of your application for payment
processing services.

Settlement
Periods and Rolling Reserves may be increased

In order to increase the merchant's chance
of obtaining a merchant facility with one of our
sponsor banks due to an applicants status and/or
business model and following a full risk assessment
of an application, we very occasionally need to
increase or place two specific elements: the settlement
period and the rolling reserve. Indeed a longer
settlement period and a larger rolling reserve
(normally 1 - 7 and 10%) are more likely to reassure
our processing bank that we have taken sufficient
steps to mitigate the risk exposure on an account.

Please be assured that you will be notified of
this prior to going live, and if not happy can
reject the new terms without any risk of being
liable for payment. However once you have agreed
the new terms and signed the agreements you would
then be liable.

How
to reduce or even eliminate a rolling reserve

We can, on occasion, consider 0% reserves,
however, before we would make this offer we would
need to see the latest set of financials for the
company to make sure that the health of the business
is sound. This will help us to get a better picture
and alleviate the need of a rolling reserve. To
do this we would look at the financials on the
public database through Companies House. If these
are not filed there then you will need to supply
these to us.

Adult
and High-Risk Registration and annual Fees

Please note that due to certain 'Adult' businesses
(downloadable videos and photos. NOT physical hard
goods), needing a different kind of merchant account,
they are subject to additional “High Risk
Registration Fees” imposed by MasterCard and
Visa. We would like to make it clear that this
is not an extra charge incurred by us but
by VISA and MasterCard. This means that even if
you decide not to use us, you will still need to
pay regardless of what PSP you use. We will inform
you of the annual fee following a full assessment.

Providing
false details and business descriptions

A number of businesses try to apply using false
details and/or business descriptions e.g. selling
DVD's but in fact selling medication. As you can
imagine this wastes a lot of time for all parties
involved, chiefly us.

More importantly this practice is illegal and
is classed under UK law as 'trying to acquire
products or services under false pretenses'. As
you can imagine we take this very seriously and
anyone caught doing so will have their business
details past over to the appropriate authorities

Any company who changes their business model
must inform us as soon as possible, otherwise
their account could be closed with immediate effect
and no refund given.

Important
Mandatory Website Requirements

If you are using a website to sell online you
must comply with certain website requirements.
These are mandatory and must be complied with
before an application can be fully approved. If
you have not developed a live website then a test
(BETA) site will be adequate.

On certain occasions the
accounts that we provide are not used by the merchant.
This could be because they have taken longer to
set-up the rest of their business, not taking
as many payments as expected or have decided not
to use it. Whatever the reason we are unable to
issue a refund as this is not due to a problem
caused by us.

Are
the prices you advertise really the prices I will pay?

YES the prices always stay the same!
However certain merchants may have slightly different
terms...

In order to increase a merchant's chance of obtaining
a merchant facility with one of our sponsor banks
due to an applicants status and/or business model
and following a full risk assessment of an application,
we may need to increase certain elements: mainly
the settlement period and the rolling reserve
(other terms may be effected depending on the
risk sector you operate in and your company’s
credit rating). Indeed a longer settlement period
and a larger rolling reserve are more likely to
reassure our processing bank that we have taken
sufficient steps to mitigate the risk exposure
on an account.

As you can imagine we are unable to tell who
will have their terms increased until an application
has been put in and is being processed. Please
be reassured that you are under no obligation
to continue with the application if the new terms
offered no longer meet your requirements. If this
is the case than simply reply to the relevant
email and your application will be terminated.

Get
started today ...

Simply
choose and click on your business from the drop down menu and
we will redirect you to the account we can provide